Poland: “I think that the embargo could be, ultimately, a healthy thing”

Though the Russian ban on European goods has negatively impacted many European fresh produce suppliers, Wojciech Bogdan, the buyer for Green Factory Bronisze, believes there have been some unexpected positive benefits. His company has been compensating for the loss of Russian sales by improving their domestic program in Poland, and a more efficient home market has been the result.
 
“In order not to let the situation hit us worse than it already has, we have had to become more efficient on the items that are important for the local Polish customers,” said Bogdan. “We've been coping well because we compensated for the items we sent to Russia, like persimmons and cucumbers, by increasing sales of products that are big in our market, like lettuce, radish, broccoli and peppers.” While domestic market gains haven't completely made up for losses from the Russian market, they've gone a long way to salvaging the season for Green Factory, and there have been gains for the overall market.

 
“I think that the embargo could be, ultimately, a healthy thing,” said Bogdan. “Everyone has had to learn quickly. We've had to be more flexible, reduce the time of reaction and improve logistics in order to minimize losses. I can see the market is coping better than before.” One of the ways they've been able to improve domestic gains has been to focus on what Polish consumers value. Domestic consumers are exacting, and Bogdan explained that the only way to survive in it is to always keep that in mind.

“The requirements are always getting more strict, and I'm not talking about certifications, because everyone knows that all European product meets legal standards,” said Bogdan. “It's more the commercial value. Lettuce, for example, has to have a great look, almost like plastic, with no blemishes or unwanted colors. That drives the market, so the product you sell has to either be very good or very cheap; there is nothing in between.” Polish consumers are also very brand-loyal, so switching suppliers mid-season is out of the question. For this reason, Green Factory goes to great lengths to find quality suppliers and work with them to ensure a consistent level of quality through their domestic production season and the winter import season, when they source product mostly from Spain and Italy.

 
“Logistics are improving all of the time,” said Bogdan. “A year ago, it took about 65 hours from harvesting lettuce in Spain to when it arrived on the Warsaw wholesale market, and now that takes about 10 fewer hours.” That kind of improvement in efficiency has helped Green Factory deal with not only the Russian embargo, but what with Bogdan believes has had a bigger effect on their bottom line this season: market unrest in Ukraine.